Reflections

Today's Reading: Luke 17:11-19

Daily Lectionary: Nehemiah 1:1-2:10; 1 Timothy 1:1-20

And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.” (Luke 17:19)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Our English translations have to make a couple of interpretive choices when they translate Luke 17:19. Jesus literally says, “Arise! Journey!  Your faith has saved you!”

First, how do you translate “saved”? Obviously, Jesus saved this man from his skin disease. The ESV translates it this way: “Your faith had made you well.” However, Jesus did more than just heal his disease. He saved him from the state of exile caused by his impurity. An incurable skin disease would prevent anyone from entering a holy space, such as the temple. Also, in extreme cases you would be excluded from society, lest you pass your impurity to them. Jesus healed this man’s disease, but He also healed both the rift between this man and God and the rift between him and his fellow men. Jesus saved him!

Second, when Jesus tells this man to get up and journey, what does He mean? The ESV assumes that Jesus is telling this man to move along—to go back home and to normal life. This is possible, but it is also possible that Jesus is inviting this man to journey with Him—to follow Him as a disciple and travel with Him to Jerusalem. 

That second interpretation certainly fits the theme of this Sunday. The Propers for this Sunday emphasize that after Jesus purifies you of your sins, you must follow Jesus and remain with Him. Thus, Proverbs 4:10-23 invites us to stay on the way of wisdom and the path of righteousness. In Galatians, Paul encourages us to walk by the Spirit, which means to crucify your flesh and to produce the fruit of the Spirit. The Introit speaks of dwelling with the Lord in His house.

You are pure in the eyes of God as long as you are in Christ. He is your righteousness, sanctification, and redemption (1 Corinthians 1:30). In Christ you find the grace of God. To leave Christ is to leave God’s grace. Salvation is not a one-time event that occurred in the past. It is a reality that you live in. You were baptized into Christ. In Him you must stay. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

O Lord, keep Your Church with Your perpetual mercy; and because of our frailty we cannot but fall, keep us ever by Your help from all things hurtful and lead us to all things profitable to our salvation; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the 14th Sunday after Trinity)

-Pastor Alexander Lange is pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Albany, Oregon.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane Bamsch

Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.

Today's Reading: Introit for the 14th Sunday after Trinity

 (Psalm 84:1-2a, 4, 10b, 11b; antiphon: v.9-10a)

Daily Lectionary: 2 Chronicles 36:1-23; Colossians 4:1-18 

Blessed are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise! (From the Introit for the 14th Sunday after Trinity) 

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Are you looking forward to tomorrow? Are you looking forward to entering the house of the Lord to receive His Gifts and sing His praise? Or is tomorrow just the end of the weekend? Is tomorrow the last day of freedom before going back to work or school on Monday morning, the end of something good? Are you looking forward to gathering with the Body of Christ to hear God's Word, or are you dreading how slowly that hour of worship goes by? Does it seem like church isn't the most exciting or entertaining thing or your pastor's sermons are a little long and dry and boring and you just don't seem to get anything out of them? Does it seem like sometimes you would rather be any place other than in the house of God? What do we do when we don't really feel like going to church?

Don't go. Well, don't go for you. Go for your neighbor. Go whether you feel like it or not because maybe your neighbor is struggling, and they need to see you there. Go and confess the faith because maybe your neighbor will be encouraged by hearing your confession. Go and sing the hymns because maybe your neighbor needs to hear your voice, whether it's on key or not. Go because maybe your pastor needs to see you and be encouraged that his preaching is not in vain even if it isn't the best preaching you've ever heard.

But more importantly, go because whether it feels like it or not, the Lord's house is a good place to be. It may not be the most exciting, entertaining, or your favorite place to be, but it is the place where God's Gifts are delivered. It is the place where God's blessings are delivered, His Word is preached, and His Sacraments are administered. It is the place where your sins are forgiven for the sake of the crucified and risen Christ. And just maybe it will be the place where you are encouraged because your neighbor showed up even when he didn't feel like it, confessed his faith for you to hear, and joined with you and the millions in heaven and on earth to sing to God and to the Lamb. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 

To God and to the Lamb I will sing, I will sing; To God and to the Lamb I will sing; To God and to the Lamb, Who is the great I AM, While millions join the theme, I will sing, I will sing, While millions join the theme, I will sing. ("What Wondrous Love Is This" LSB 543, st.3)

-Rev. Brett Simek is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Hilbert, WI. He also serves as catechesis coordinator for Higher Things.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane Bamsch

Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.

Daily Lectionary: 2 Chronicles 35:1-7, 16-25; Colossians 3:1-25 

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Galatians 3:17) 

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The world demands a lot of us. Parents, teachers, friends, bosses, and coworkers demand that we "do this" or "do that." Sometimes, the Bible seems no different. "Set your minds on things that are above" (Galatians 3:2). "Put to death therefore what is earthly in you" (Galatians 3:5). "As the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive" (Galatians 3:13). "And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him" (Galatians 3:17).

Even that only names a few of the list of demands Paul gives to the Galatians and to you and me. Often the Bible can seem very Law-heavy and demanding. It preaches the Gospel, like Paul does to the Galatians, but then Paul seems to undo it with a list of demands. Sometimes, even the Gospel can seem like a demand. "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38). So what are we supposed to do? What demand does the Bible put on Christians?

None. Even here, Paul is not demanding anything of the Christian, nor anything of you. No, he is appealing to our freedom. He is rejoicing in the freedom that we have because of Christ. Jesus has done everything that is necessary and fulfilled every demand for your salvation. Nothing is left for you to do. Even repentance and Baptism isn't for you to do, but it is God's work. He does it all for you. He dies and rises for you. It is all His work for you, to make your salvation sure and certain apart from your works. Nothing more is demanded from you or of you. You are free from every demand and command.

What a wonderful gift to be free! How wonderful it is to have our freedom from sin. We are no longer held by sin but are raised with Christ. We are free to love as Christ has loved us. We are free to do whatever we want, in word or deed, in the Name of Jesus, giving thanks to God. We are free to focus on higher things, to glorify God, to bring our neighbor into God's kingdom with us to set them free. We are free to be God's means to save others. We are free from worrying about ourselves because Christ has done it all for us. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 

Where charity and love prevail There God is ever found; Brought here together by Christ's love By love are we thus bound. ("Where Charity and Love Prevail" LSB 845, st.1)

-Rev. Brett Simek is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Hilbert, WI. He also serves as catechesis coordinator for Higher Things.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane Bamsch

Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Baptism part 1

Daily Lectionary: 2 Chronicles 34:1-4, 8-11,14-33; Colossians 2:8-23

Baptism is not just plain water, but it is the water included in God's command and combined with God's word. (Small Catechism: Baptism) 

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Why do we baptize? Why do I need to be baptized? Is it just because God said so? Don't you hate that? When your parents tell you that you have to do something, "Because I said so"? If it was such a good thing to do, don't you think they would have an explanation as to "why" it is such a great idea? It makes you think they want you to do it for some random, arbitrary, reason without any real purpose or point to it other than, "Because I said so."

As a pastor and a parent, I can tell you it's not always for no reason that we tell you to do something, "Because I said so." Sometimes I just don't have time to explain the "why" behind what I want you to do. Sometimes it's because you just might not understand the reason or purpose behind doing what is commanded and so the command stands alone.

There are things, times, and lessons we have to learn without knowing the whole picture or reason behind them. There are times when we just have to trust that God's knowledge is bigger than our own and that something is good or will at least work out okay, "Because He said so." Baptism is not one of those times.

In Baptism, there is more than just God's command to baptize all nations. In Baptism, the water is combined not only with the command, but also with God's Word, God's Promise. God tells us why we baptize and are baptized. Baptism makes disciples. Baptism puts Christ upon us. Baptism crucifies us with Christ and raises us to new life. Baptism saves you, "not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 3:21). Your Baptism is for the comfort of your conscience. It is God's Promise to you that for the sake of the death and resurrection of Jesus, your sins are forgiven, your salvation has been won, and your eternal life is secure. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 

In Baptism we now put on Christ- Our shame is fully covered With all that He once sacrificed and feely for us suffered. For here the flood of His own blood Now makes us holy, right, and good Before our heav'nly Father. ("All Christians Who Have Been Baptized" LSB 596, st.4)

-Rev. Brett Simek is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Hilbert, WI. He also serves as catechesis coordinator for Higher Things.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane Bamsch

Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.

Today's Reading: John 12:20-33

Daily Lectionary: 2 Chronicles 33:1-25; Colossians 1:24-2:7 

"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit." (John 12:20-33) 

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Not many people wear jewelry depicting a needle or the electric chair. I don't see many gold noose necklaces proudly displayed dangling from a chain on someone's chest. Maybe I hang out with the wrong crowd, but I don't see many guillotine charm bracelets adorning wrists. These are all instruments of death, means that have been used throughout history to carry out the death penalty. I do, however, see crosses on necklaces, bracelets, earrings, on clothing or tattoos. Maybe I am hanging out with the wrong crowd.

The cross was the chosen instrument and means of death in carrying out the death penalty for the Romans. It wasn't a humane way to die. In fact, it was designed to maximize the pain and agony of the one being crucified. But if this is one of the most gruesome, painful, and agonizing ways to die in all of human history, why do we wear it with pride and adorn ourselves with it?

 Maybe it's because the Cross is more than a symbol of death. Or maybe it's because the death that happened there to Jesus wasn't just the end of someone's life. Maybe it's because it was there on the Cross that the grain of wheat, the seed and source of life, fell into the earth and died so that it might bear much fruit. Maybe it's because that instrument of death is a true sign of triumph that life conquers death, that Christ rises from the dead, that the fruit of that Tree is the forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and salvation. Maybe it's because the Cross is the symbol of the world's redemption from sin and death.

Maybe it's all of that. We lift high the cross, parade it around in churches and on our bodies in gold and jewels, because it is from that Cross of Christ, from the body and life that is given then, from the blood of God which is shed there, that we do not remain alone but are united with God and all the faithful who wish to see Jesus in life everlasting. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 

Faithful cross, true sign of triumph, Be for all the noblest tree; None in foliage, none in blossom, None in fruit thine equal be; Symbol of the world's redemption, For the weight that hung on thee! ("Sing, My Tongue, the Glorious Battle" LSB 454, st.4)

-Rev. Brett Simek is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Hilbert, WI. He also serves as catechesis coordinator for Higher Things.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane Bamsch

Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.

Today's Reading: Galatians 3:15-22

Daily Lectionary:2 Chronicles 32:1-22; Colossians 1:1-23 

This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void. (Galatians 3:17) 

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. What came first: the Law or the Gospel? Does it matter? Paul seems to think so. Once a covenant is made, you cannot change it. Once a contract has been signed, you don't add to it or subtract from it. If that's true with the agreements we make with one another, then how much more so is this true for a covenant God makes with us?

But what is the covenant that God makes with us, and with Abraham? It is Law, or is it Gospel? Which comes first, or do they go together? Is it like a vending machine where I put my money, my work in and get the gifts out? Then the Law must come first. But if the Law comes second, 430 years afterward, then that changes things. If the promise of the Gospel is given to Abraham first, and the Law doesn't come to Moses until 430 years later, then the Gospel, the covenantal Promise, is ratified, it's made, it's signed by the hand of God apart from works of the Law.

That is my kind of vending machine! No works, no money, without so much as a quarter, yet out come the gifts of God. God promises and fulfills His promise to Abraham by grace alone. God's own Son, our Savior, comes not because of our own merit, but by grace and grace alone. Because of His merit, that of Jesus, and the free gift of faith given by the Holy Spirit, we have eternal life.

So what then of the Law that comes 430 years later? Those are the instructions that show us how to put this good Gift into use. They don't change the Gift. The covenant, the Promise, the Gospel, is not annulled, canceled, added to, subtracted from, or changed because of them. The death and resurrection of Christ for the forgiveness of your sins is sure and certain. The instructions, too, are a gift that we might share the Gospel to others so they would have the Gift of life, also. They don't take the Gift away, but aid us in presenting that Gift to others so that they might know God's grace as we do. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 

By grace God's Son, our only Savior, Came down to earth to bear our sin. Was it because of your own merit That Jesus died your soul to win? No, it was grace and grace alone, That brought Him from His heav'nly throne. ("By Grace I'm Saved" LSB 566, st.3)

-Rev. Brett Simek is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Hilbert, WI. He also serves as catechesis coordinator for Higher Things.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane Bamsch

Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.

Today's Reading: 2 Chronicles 28:8-15

Daily Lectionary: 2 Chronicles 31:1-21; Philippians 4:1-23 

And the men who have been mentioned by name rose and took the captives, and with the spoil they clothed all who were naked among them. They clothed them, gave them sandals, provided them with food and drink, and anointed them, and carrying all the feeble among them on donkeys, they brought them to their kinsfolk at Jericho, the city of palm trees. Then they returned to Samaria. (2 Chronicles 28:15) 

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Judah and Jerusalem had been defeated and taken captive. 200,000 of them were taken as slaves along with their possessions as spoils of war. They were being taken from their land, their city, and the temple in which their God dwelt. Their lives and their world were being turned upside down and God had allowed it all to happen. In fact, He didn't just allow it, He was the one behind it, working through their captors to call them to repentance and faith. They had sinned against God and He was punishing them for their unfaithfulness.

It's hard to argue with what God was doing. The people deserved it. They had turned their backs on God and disobeyed Him and His commandments. They deserved for God to forsake them, to turn His back on them. It's what we deserve for our sin. We turn our backs  on God when we sin against Him. We follow the devil and deserve to follow him into slavery to sin, all the way to death and hell, but we never get there.

Israel never got there, either. Certain men of Ephraim stepped in and intervened. God stepped in to rescue His people from slavery. He took those who were destined for slavery and returned them to Judah. He cared for them not just to set them free, but that they would be clothed, given sandals, food, drink, anointed, carried and delivered back to their land. What great mercy He shows to Israel!

What great mercy He shows to us who are destined for slavery, death and hell. By the blood of His Son, He intervenes, rescues us, and returns us to the Promised Land. He clothes us with Christ's righteousness, with the shirt on our backs and the food in our bellies. He cares for us in body and soul now and to eternity with the promise that He will never leave us or forsake us. God's promise is to be with you always, even when your life seems like it's being turned upside down, and especially when it is ending, that you would enter into His kingdom. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

O God, forsake me not! Your gracious presence lend me; Lord, lead Your helpless child; Your Holy Spirit send me That I my course may run. O be my light, my lot, My staff, my rock, my shield- O God, forsake me not! ("O God, Forsake Me Not" LSB 731, st.1)

-Rev. Brett Simek is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Hilbert, WI. He also serves as catechesis coordinator for Higher Things.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane Bamsch

Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.

Today's Reading: Luke 10:21-37

Daily Lectionary: 2 Chronicles 29:1-24; Philippians 3:1-21 

And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" (Luke 10:25) 

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The lawyer thinks he knows it all. He tries to test Jesus to see how smart He is, to see if Jesus is any match for him. Little does he know that he is asking the wrong question to the wrong person. He asks, "What shall I do to inherit eternal life?" (Luke 10:25) Jesus tells him what he must do if he wants to inherit eternal life. If he wants to earn his way into heaven, if you want to earn your way into heaven, be like the good Samaritan. You must have compassion on the poor, downtrodden, and needy. You must care for them, give them everything they need, the donkey you're riding on and the shirt off your back, and pay the full price to restore their life. Nothing short of doing everything will suffice.

Ouch. Jesus brings the full weight and hammer of the Law down on this lawyer. He wants to be put under the Law, so Jesus brings the Law. The Law beats him and convicts him down to its last detail, that even a foreign Samaritan outsider is better than this lawyer. He is stripped of the self-righteousness he is seeking and left in a ditch to die. That's what the Law does to us, too. "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself" (Luke 10:27).

Thanks be to God for that Samaritan, that man passing by who has come from a foreign place to pick us up and restore our life. He takes our broken sinfulness, our self-righteousness, and carries them for us. He bears the wounds and carries the scars that our sins make in His body for us. He carries us to the inn of His Church where He nurses us back to health and life by washing our wounds in the waters of Holy Baptism, by feeding and nourishing us not just with bread and wine but with every Word that comes from the mouth of God, even His very Body and Blood. He pays the full price for our lives not with gold or silver, but with His holy precious blood and His innocent suffering and death that we might be His own, and that by His work we might inherit eternal life. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 

Almighty and everlasting God, give us an increase of faith, hope, and charity; and that we may obtain what You have promised, make us love what You have commanded; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the 13th Sunday after Trinity)

-Rev. Brett Simek is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Hilbert, WI. He also serves as catechesis coordinator for Higher Things.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane Bamsch

Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.

Today's Reading: Introit for the 13th Sunday after Trinity

(Psalm 74:1-2, 19b, 21b; antiphon: v.20a, 21a, 22a, 23a)

Daily Lectionary: 2 Kings 9:1-13; 10:18-29; Philippians 2:12-30 

Do not forget the life of your poor forever. Let the poor and needy praise your name. (From the Introit for the 13th Sunday after Trinity) 

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Psalm 74 is not full of cheerful thoughts, fluffy teddy bears, and bright rainbows. It speaks about the temple in Jerusalem lying in ruins and there being no more prophets who proclaim the Word of the Lord. The psalmist even goes so far as to say that the Lord God who is their shepherd has turned bright red in anger, smoke billowing from His ears, and the sheep are the source and recipients of God's anger. Not a happy thought. Life for the psalmist is about as depressed and cheerless and miserable as it can get. Ever felt that way? 

Of course you have. We all have. That's part of sinful human existence. Sin has corrupted us through and through, breaking and destroying God's good creation. This is the beauty of the psalms. They get you. Ever feel like God has forgotten about you? So did the psalmists. Ever feel like God just doesn't care what happens to you? So did the psalmists. The Word of God which they wrote speaks to every human condition and emotion. 

Most of all, the psalms point you to Jesus. God does not forget His children. He does not abandon them. What He does is send His only-begotten Son into the world to save the poor in spirit, those who feel downtrodden and abandoned and hopeless. The poor and needy of the Scriptures are those who have been so broken by sin that they have nothing left but to cry to Jesus for salvation. And salvation they received. Freely. All gift because Jesus has taken your sins and brokenness and hopelessness to Himself on the Cross and gives to you His glorious life, death, and resurrection. Jesus has purchased and redeemed you, as the psalmist begs. All the prayers of the psalms, all your prayers, are answered in Jesus. Therefore, you who were once poor and needy, praise the Name of the Lord your God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in the midst of His congregation for He has remembered and redeemed you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 

In suff'ring be Thy love my peace, In weakness be Thy love my pow'r; And when the storms of life shall cease, O Jesus, in that final hour, Be Thou my rod and staff and guide, And draw me safely to Thy side! ("Jesus, Thy Boundless Love to Me" LSB 683, st.4)

-Rev. Daniel Voth, pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Grand Forks, ND.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane Bamsch

Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.

Daily Lectionary: 2 Kings 6:1-23; Philippians 1:21-2:11 

Then Elisha prayed and said, "O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see." So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. (2 Kings 6:17) 

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In Isaiah 6, the prophet is given a vision of heaven's throne room. The six-winged seraphim shouted out, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts" (Isaiah 6:3). In the great Sanctus of Divine Service Setting Three, we leave "host" untranslated as "Sabaoth." They mean the same thing: a heavenly army. The Lord God of heaven's army, whom Isaiah saw, was again seen by Elisha and his servant. Heaven's army was on full display, even if at first Elisha's servant did not see it. This army of horses and chariot all ablaze was there to save God's people from destruction and deliver them from their enemies. 

That same Lord God of Sabaoth came to do battle for you. This time it was not hidden, but on full public display. Yet as visible as it was, most do not see it. It looks like a huge loss. Instead of being cloaked in fire with a vast army sounding Him, this time the Lord God is alone, hanging on a cross, dying. Not very victorious to the human eye. 

When the Holy Spirit opens the eyes of faith, then you see a very different picture. Though your enemies of sin, death, and the devil try to surround you, you have Christ Jesus, the Son of the Lord God, and all of heaven's armies. He has saved you from destruction and delivered you from your enemies. His death is your salvation and by His resurrection He has won the victory. Satan and his demonic horde have been defeated and are going down kicking and screaming like a toddler throwing a temper tantrum. Your sin is forgiven. Death is no longer a threat. 

Now, in the presence of these defeated enemies, the Lord prepares a great feast of victory, His Body and Blood in the Holy Sacrament, as we join with the seraphim and angels and archangels and all the company of heaven to sing "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God of heaven's army!" On the day that Christ welcomes you home to the eternal feast, your enemies will never come to raid you again, for Christ is your victory now and forever. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 

Sing, my tongue, the glorious battle; Sing the ending of the fray. Now above the cross, the trophy, Sound the loud triumphant lay; Tell how Christ, the world's redeemer, As a victim won the day. ("Sing, My Tongue, the Glorious Battle" LSB 454, st.1)

-Rev. Daniel Voth, pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Grand Forks, ND.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane Bamsch

Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.